KARACHI:Sindh Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ismail Rahoo has underlined the need for creating awareness among the general public about the impacts of climate change and how to mitigate its effects.
The provincial government had finalized the Sindh Climate Change Policy, which was being vetted by the law department and then the provincial Cabinet would approve it soon, he said while talking to a delegation of environmental activists and civil society led by Ms Zeenia Shaukat, Director of The Knowledge Forum and others at his office here today. Senior journalist Tahir Hassan Khan, Ms. Nagham Iqtidar and Shujauddin Qureshi of the TKF were also present.
Mr Rahoo said due to the geographic position of the tail-end of the Indus River, Sindh was suffering water shortage. An awareness campaign had been launched to educate people about changes in weather patterns due to climate change, he said.
The minister said water flow in the Indus River had declined over the years due to climate change. Its flow has further reduced downstream Sukkur barrage as due to wide bed of the river in the middle of Sindh’s areas, the river water is wasted and evaporated and when it reaches Kotri barrage, its flow is negligible, he further informed. Downstream Kotri Barrage districts, especially Indus Delta areas, suffer dryness for most of the year.
The United Nations team had recently visited the Indus Delta areas and informed the provincial government that the international body plans to initiate a project to save the Indus Delta area, Rahoo said. He said Sindh Climate Change Policy had been devised after thorough consultations with all the stakeholders including industries, civil society and climate change activists.
The civil society activists informed the minister that The Knowledge Forum, in collaboration with the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), had organized a consultation to discuss Sindh’s Climate Change Policy and Implementation Framework on April 15, 2022, at the NCHR office in Karachi.
The consultation was attended among others by officials of the Climate Change Department, Energy Department, civil society and climate activists. Ms Zeenia Shaukat informed the minister that a set of recommendations had been compiled after the consultation, which could be incorporated into the forthcoming policy, approved by the Cabinet.
She mentioned the participants of the consultation had critically identified a lack of action on the part of SEPA with regard to the revision of air quality standards and publishing data on the environment every year. Given that SEPA has not done its job, the policy should suggest a mechanism that may ensure that SEPA delivers on its mandate.
There is no mention of the role of the District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) in the Sindh Climate Change Policy. Only Deputy Commissioner’s office has been identified. This is in line with the current provincial government’s practice of relegating all disaster-related responsibilities to the deputy commissioner system. Given the importance of the district disaster management authority that specializes in disaster response, a clear mention in the policy would help promote the significance of well-established specialized institutions at the district level.
The policy needs to review the existing practices and their failures. For example, there is a need to reconsider the viability of relying on self-reporting on Social Impact Assessment and Environment Impact Assessment by industries. The industries comply with this obligation by using the services of hired consultants whose credibility and transparency are doubted since they are being paid by the industry. There is a strong need to develop governmental capacity along with local CSO/NGO participation and the involvement of the local community so that there is a more responsible and accountable structure to cover impact assessment.
The policy suggests a disoriented approach toward the community. It blames indigenous communities for the shrinking mass of rangelands, forests, and mangroves while making no mention of the role of the timber mafia, industrialization, and commercialization in the depletion of natural resources.
Targeting economically deprived communities for creating conditions of climate change not only signals an unjust approach, but it also suggests the policy-makers lopsided view of the causes behind climate change and deliberate avoidance of the acknowledgement of powerful actors and institutions responsible for environmental degradation in the province. The policy emphasizes ensuring and securing the interests of vulnerable groups. However, a consultative plan in this regard has not been spelt out.